


Counting Down

by Trashstille



Category: Bastille (Band), Dyle - Fandom
Genre: M/M, Recreational Drug Use, Teenage Hormones, don't read this if you know me irl, theres a dog in this so u might as well read it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-15
Updated: 2017-05-15
Packaged: 2018-10-31 23:45:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 5,095
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10909908
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Trashstille/pseuds/Trashstille
Summary: It was the morning sun in his eyes, nagging him to roll out of bed, much like his mother. His father, however, would drag him back into it, like a setting sun, and a cooling breeze. He would entrance him, tug him like an anchor on a long rope, and sink him down into the ocean of linen, where he drowned in his own thoughts.And that's why he needed to get away.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey there readers! In case this sounds familiar, its basically my old wattpad fic (called Counting Down) but better. Like, I wrote it when I was 12, so dan and Kyle kind of banged every other chapter and it had zero plot at all. I deleted it forever, so this is like Counting Down, remastered. I missed it so much, so now I'm reanimating it and stitching up what plot it had into a horrible monster that will drag us into hell. Please enjoy, or try to at least.

The car sputtered through a small, lakeside neighborhood. The kind of wooded area that you'd expect to hide that summer camp your mother wouldn't send you to because a counselor got a girl pregnant, you know?

There was a long, winding road with lots of little homes and trees and gentle curves. A quaint, picturesque portrait come to life.

Daniel Smith had none of it. He was slouched back in his mother's Volkswagen, with a frown on his face as his father's favorite cassette playing on the crackling stereo. 

"Gwen's a lot of fun," said his mother. "She's got a weird little farm and some good taste in music." Mrs. Smith pressed. 

"She has a pot farm." Spat his father.

Dan said nothing as he clutched his bag in silence. It seemed so surreal. His parents were going on vacation without him, his dog was dying, and his sister was far away in law school. It was odd, since his parents had been arguing nearly every day for the last year and a half without fail, that their way to mend their relationship was to visit Italy for two months, without their children, and leave their dog at a pot farmer's crummy home with their sad son. Yes, Italy is the best place to solve your problems. Have cancer? A sex addiction? Chlamydia? Gangrene? Italy, where every marriage is mended, and every disease is cured, and every problem that ever crossed your mind vanished.

Of course it was bull. Dan knew they weren't going on vacation. Dan knew more than the world intended. 

"We're here," said Ms. Smith, as the car came to a halt. 

A woman in a long dress waved from the porch of a yellow home. She had windchimes all along her porch, a decorous garden, and beautiful wicker furniture.

"Not too shabby for a pot farmer." Chuckled Mr. Smith.

"She's not a pot farmer." Snapped his mother.

Dan tugged his luggage out of the backseat. His dog, Peanut, had snuggled into the corner of his duffel until he had slid it out from under her. She gave him a pitiful look before hopping out of the car.

It was a sad blur, really. The greetings and goodbyes. His parents left eagerly, Gwen took Peanut inside reluctantly, and he, well frankly, wanted nothing more than his imminent death.

He had thrown his duffel in Gwen's guest room, and sunk down into his bed. The linens were coarse and rough against his skin. The scent of lavender made his nose tickle slightly. He felt peanuts paws clicking on the wooden floors. She sniffed around, hopped onto the unfamiliar sheets, and snuggled next to Dan. Her floppy ears and round body bounced as she wandered through the mess of fabrics. "Come here, you." Dan let her lay down next to him.

"I love you, Peanut. More than life itself. I'll take you out walking tomorrow, and then we'll go out by the lake. I promise you, babe."

She sniffed and slobbered all over his face, and then proceeded to lick his nose.

"Don't get too friendly with that dog." Gwen cried from the kitchen with a hearty chuckle.

"Very funny." he deadpanned, scratching Peanut between her ears.

And so summer began.


	2. II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Dan is slightly more excited than he was before.

It was the morning sun in his eyes, nagging him to roll out of bed, much like his mother. His father, however, would drag him back into it, like a setting sun, and a cooling breeze. He would entrance him, tug him like an anchor on a long rope, and sink him down into the ocean of linen, where he drowned in his own thoughts.

And that's why he needed to get away.

Dan rolled out of bed. Peanut was lying down at the foot of the bed, and she awakwed along with him.

He did his morning routines, brushed his teeth, got dressed, and took Peanut's leash from his duffel. The beagle joyfully wag her tail at the tall boy. He clipped it on before she began to lick him with pure happiness in her deep eyes. 

"Good girl," he patted her on the head before he head out of the house. 

Gwen was gardening. She waved him over. The least he could do was comply. 

"Morning, Gwen," he grinned politely. "I'm taking her out for a stroll, is that alright?"

"Dandy. Say hello to our neighbors on your way, the ones in the blue house. They've got a boy your age who's got a knack for skating." She poured potting soil into a little clay container.

"Alright. I'll tell them you sent me."

-

"Good morning, Mrs. Simmons, I'm Dan Smith, your neighbor's nephew." Dan shook her hand. She had a pointy nose, and large brown eyes. A delicate woman, short, and with frail hands.

"Nice to meet you, Dan. Come inside and bring your dog in with you, too." 

The house smelled of lavender and cotton. The decor was dated, but nonetheless, a comforting home. Dan felt safe to say that it was better than the pot farm he was living in.

"Sit, sit. I'd like to introduce you to my son, but he's around the back. I'll call him in. Would you like coffee?"

"Yes, please. Black." He smiled. He felt a little out of place, but Peanut's wagging tail thumping on his leg was a little easing. At least he had a friend.

"Interesting. Never met a boy your age with a knack for bitter coffee."

She left the room to the kitchen, grabbed a mug and handed him his coffee.

There was a loud slam, and a lanky boy swaggered into the room. He had no shirt on him, and his pants hung curiously low. He had sweat dripping down his chest and stomach, beading at his hairline, and on his upper lip. He had a little goatee. A nice rugged patch of facial hair on his jawline accented it perfectly. He seemed older than Dan, but not by much.

Without even realizing it, Dan had suddenly come to the conclusion that with little effort, he had become insanely aroused.

Kyle had these dark eyes. And he had his mother's nose. A beautiful boy, with messy hair, and a couple of bandaged up fingers. He had rings. Dan had begun to let the imagination wander, which in most cases, is quite dangerous. Given the circumstances, this was no exception.

In his mind he began thinking about the cold metal, the icy, burning, sensation of cold steel on sensitive skin. He couldn't stop top thinking about those rings. Rings. Rings, rings, rings and rings. Goddamn rings.

"Hey there, Kyle. Meet our neighbor for the summer, Dan. Dan, this is my son Kyle."  
Kyle waved politely, but urgently began talking to his mother.

"Mother of mine," he began, clasping his hands as if he were begging. "Can I go over to Charlie's later?"

She looked over at Dan and his pudgy beagle, and back at her son. And then back at Dan again.

"Only if you take Dan with you. What do you say, Dan? I think it would be fantastic!"

"Sure." Dan muttered while he stared at Peanut. She panted happily.

"That's fine. We'll be heading down at six, he's got this lame party, and it's just me, him, and some other dudes."

Dan said nothing. Mrs.Simmons grinned. She had a vibrant smile, with teeth that reflected light throughout the room.

"You two are going to get along just fine."

"Alright, then. Thank you for the coffee, but I better get going. Its been a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Simmons, and you, Kyle."

With one hand, he held peanut's leash, and with the other, he shook Mrs. Simmons' hand. Then he shook Kyle's.

And then he felt the rings.

They were so cold. It was like ice gently melting into his hands. It seemed against the laws of physics for a piece of metal to leave such a weird feeling in one's tummy, but oh hell, Isaac Newton had never met Kyle Simmons. Neils Bohr never met Kyle Simmons. What would they know about a couple of stupid rings?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone for reading I really appreciate it :) don't forget to leave me some feedback or whatever. I kind of know where I'm going with this. Hopefully.


	3. III

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Dan does everything his mother told him not to do...

"Why are you here? Not in any offensive way." Kyle kicked a rock down the dimly lit sidewalk. He had his hands in his pocket, fumbling with his house keys.

"My parents are going to Italy, and my sis is in college in the states. But they're not really in Italy. They're just getting a divorce, and don't want me around."  
Dan felt empty without Peanut's leash on his hand. 

"I'm sorry about that." Kyle said. "So how do you like living with Gwen? She's pretty cool. The neighbors don't like her because some kids said she was a lesbian, and she grows pot."

"Well, I mean she's pretty okay," Said Dan. "She's quite funny. And she's pretty awesome, since she is a lesbian that probably farms pot."

"Does she have a pot farm?"

"I don't even know how to answer that. My dad says she does, but I haven't seen any. Why do you ask?"

"I don't do it, if that's what you're wondering. I was thinking it was medicinal or recreational or, you know, just for the hell of it. Nothin wrong with it."

"I smoke cigarettes, though. I started last year after my parents really started clashing. I'm not proud of it, but it helps."  
Dan shrugged his shoulders. He looked at Kyle, and Kyle looked at him.

"I do occasionally. My mom used to, and my dad does every other day or so. I'm not real happy about those habits but I guess it's just how it is." Kyle fumbled a little more with his keys. He seemed a bit tense. "Just another block and his house is on the right..."

There was no map in the history of cartography that could pinpoint Charlie's house. It was secluded, deep in the wood of the small town. Trees lined the driveway so densely, you could barely see the house itself.

Dan followed behind Kyle, who ran down the gravel and pushed open the front door.

He trudged in shyly, cowering behind the taller boy.

"Hey sluts!" Cried Kyle, slamming the door behind him.

"Kyle!" A short man with a drink in his hand waved from the kitchen. The living room was very nicely decorated. There was an abundance of streamers, and empty cups on the floor. He was playing Joy Division, and some guys were sitting in the corner talking quite loudly.

In all honesty, that was quite a lousy party. In total, there were at least 5 people, and three of them were so drunk, they had spilled their drinks on their shirt.

"Charlie, meet Dan. Dan, that little boy is Charlie. Ralph is the Amish man in the corner, woody is the beautiful woman on the couch, and Will is the male escort."  
Kyle pointed at them all.

"Hi, I'm Dan."

"Nice to know. Do you want a beer?" Charlie threw a plastic cup at the unexpecting Daniel.

"Sure." Dan shrugged.

"Drink up, it's gonna be a long night." Kyle whispered into Dan's ear. He felt his rings brush up against his arm. 

Dan shuddered.

-

The events that followed Dan drinking seventeen and a half beers were all a blur. An Amish man fell asleep in the bathtub, the male escort had intercourse with a lamp, and the beautiful woman kissed every man at the party.

They were all nice people, especially when they shared a cigarette. It might a been a special one they passed around, but there was truly no way of recollecting everything that happened. Sure, there was, but after seventeen and a half beers, Dan just wanted to forget.

He remembered running down the street with Kyle late at night, laughing their asses off, with tears running down their cheeks, and the smell of smoke sticking to their sweaty skin.

And when Dan finally reached his bed, he felt a funny feeling in his tummy, a kind of warm feeling that he doesn't get with many people. He wished Kyle was there with him. And he was sure Kyle felt that way too.

But seventeen and a half beers can really make someone think things that may or may not be right, or logical, or true. But hell, seventeen and a half beers couldn't change the fact that Dan was feeling things. And feelings are not always true best things in the world. This was no exception.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Charlie Barnes is really adorable in real life because you don't realize he's a man you just think he's an American Girl Doll with a guitar. Anyway , i sincerely hope you all enjoy this. Thanks for reading this sad excuse of a fan fiction, I appreciate it :)


	4. IV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Dan and Kyle do things they're not supposed to...

The killer hangover wore off at about 2 o'clock in the afternoon. Dan still felt severely queasy as he took Peanut on her walk. It seemed like even she was feeling under the weather herself. 

Later that afternoon, Dan's mother called. Gwen handed him the phone while they sat and watched RuPaul's drag race with Kyle in her living room.

The boys had been drinking warm broth to rid themselves of that horrible hangover that had rendered them incapable of leaving their beds for at least 2 hours that morning when Mrs. Smith called.

"Hey mum, how's everything in Venice?" He rolled his eyes.

"Oh, fine. Listen, I wanted to let you know that we're picking you up earlier because we want you to help us adjust, we're going to be having some changes made."

"Mum, I'm not stupid, I know what's going on." He groaned over the phone.

"I'm sure you're brilliant. You're leaving July twenty third, so that leaves you... 33 days, since today's the twentieth... alright. 33 more days and you'll come back him. How does that sound?"

"Fine, mum. It's fine. Tell dad I said hello, and also fran, if she calls." He hung up the phone and set it down on the coffee table next to the couch. He laid back comfortably with Peanut in his lap, and Kyle sitting beside him.

"I'm sorry," Kyle whispered. "I wish I could help..."

Dan ignored him blatantly. His eyes were glued on Bianca Del Rio.

-

Two weeks and several conversations later, Dan and Kyle were laying in Gwen's backyard. They were on the freshly cut green grass, smoking cigarettes and listening to The Smiths. Gwen had to work her shift in the afternoon at the thrift store, so Dan and Kyle were left unsupervised.

"Dan?" Kyle reached out for the wild-haired boy. 

"Mm?" He replied.

"I really want to hold you, and feel you breathe. I want to feel your hair and coddle you, and maybe kiss your face all over."

"Kyle, you're high, aren't you?"

"So what?" Kyle rolled over on his side an stared Dan right in the eyes. "Doesn't change the fact that I want that."

"You genuinely want to? I didn't even think you were the slightest bit homosexual- Kyle I barely know you, and you're high."

"I don't really care, though, that's the problem. These past few weeks I've wanted nothing but to be with you, and talk to you, and be close to you. Yes I'm high and my head's spinning and nothing makes sense, but I know I want it."

"It just seems a little sudden- you know?" Dan crawled closer to Kyle. He wasn't remotely sure if he was attracted to Kyle romantically, but he was curious about the way it would feel when they kissed. He wanted to feel kyle's facial hair brushing against his chin when their lips touched. He wanted to run his hands through his hair, down his neck and his bony back. He had to, he needed to. They say curiosity killed the cat, but in reality, curiosity killed the sad, pasty, English boy with a fucked up family.

Kyle gently kissed Dan, grabbing his hair and taking his long fingers through it. Dan kissed back. These past few weeks, they've become closer. Spending every second together, every moment either talking, screwing around with a beach ball, or smoking cigarettes and playing with Peanut. This was a little closer than he anticipated, but he wasn't complaining.

"Well," began Dan. His face was burning a bright pink as he felt Kyle's fingers gliding over his waist, gently under the hem of his shirt. "You told me you didn't smoke weed. I thought you meant it."

"Things change... is it alright if we get rid of this? I see no use in it." Dan nodded in agreement. His friend knew consent was key. 

Kyle gently slid Dan's shirt off his body. Dan shivered in response.

"Kyle, where'd you get it from?" He whispered in between warm kisses. His breath hitched when he felt Kyle gently nibble on the soft skin of his neck.

"Doesn't matter, Dan... I just want to have you now, wether I'm high or not. Oh God, please can I get rid of this now?" Kyle's fingers wrapped themselves around Dan's belt. 

Dan willingly, eagerly, and impatiently nodded. A breathy 'yes,' left his lips as he felt Kyle's friction against him.

"In the backyard, though? My room's right there..."

Dan flung his arm to point st the doors leading out to the backyard.

"No, please, here..." Kyles swollen, red eyes burned into Dan's. He was impatient, that brat. He wanted it there and now. 

It would have happened in the backyard, if Kyle's mother hadn't stood up on a lawn chair in their backyard, and caught them making out, on Gwen's lawn, half-naked.  
"Kyle! Kyle Simmons you get your dirty whore hands off that boy right now! Where's your condoms? Where's your heterosexuality, is a better question? What am I going to tell your father?" 

"Mum, this isn't what it looks like!" Kyle rolled off of Dan. He slid his shirt back on, his brows furrowed in worry. 

"You're having sex with the sweet boy, in his aunt's backyard. I think it's exactly what it looks like. Come here!" She hooked her finger and signaled him to come in her direction.  
"You're not leaving the house for a week, and you're not going over there for the rest of the summer, do you understand?"

Kyle sighed. She was on the other side of the fence, shaking her head at him. He shrugged and then made his way over to his own home. 

"And for you," she pointed at Dan. "Forgive me, but, did you convert him? It doesn't work like that, does it?"

Dan just laid there, breathing hard. He didn't even know how to respond to the situation without even crying. "No, it doesn't. He just said he really wanted to... I'm sorry..." he ran off indoors, not bothering to continue the conversation with Kyle'd mother. He slammed the doors so hard that the glass vibrated. He sank into his covers, hoping that the covers would suffocate him and he would wake up dead.

And that was that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the love and support my friends, I'm trying to post more often before I forget to update it for a month, so if I spam a little I apologize. Thanks again my dudes :)


	5. V

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Charlie has a nice chat with Kyle...

"Charlie, how are you man?" Kyle nervously wrapped his fingers around the home phone. It was day two of his punishment for the backyard banging fiasco that went on, but his mother wasn't home.

"What's wrong?" 

That instinctive son of a gun. "Well, you see here, Charlie. When a man is endowed certain powers, he intends to use them. I was endowed many opportunities to use those powers that were given to me by the miracles of the male anatomy, if you catch my drift."

"So you and Dan were having sex?"

"Well, nothing happened. But, you know, it was going to."

"That's fine, as long as you've got the pot."

"Here's the thing about the pot..."

"You didn't get it? Dammit Kyle, you can get laid but you can't get pot, huh?"

"Listen to me! It was at the wrong place, wrong time. We started like, you know, doing what most people do, and then my mum looked over the fence and she saw us."

"What were you thinking?"

"Sorry." Kyle said, ashamed. "I don't know if I can do this any longer. I can't use Dan like this, he's too vulnerable right now."

"But this is our only chance to get our goods, you know? We could profit from it, and get ourselves a good street rep."

"I don't care about street rep, Charles."

"What do you care about, then? Dan?"

"No. I don't like him, I just don't want to hurt him like that."

"You're not hurting him if he never finds out."

"This is why aunt Linda thinks you're the devil." Kyle spat back at the phone. Charlie chuckled on the other end.

"You remember where we would play in the woods as kids? I've a little camp set up there, I want you to come tomorrow at around midnight. Bring Dan."

-

There was someone at the door. Gwen's door.

After a couple of knocks, Gwen, who was busy attending her garden, had to leave her plants be and check who the hell had decided to come knocking around at this hour.

"Mrs. Simmons? Hello."

"Hello, Gwen. Are you aware that your nephew and my son were participating in sexual foreplay in your backyard?"

"No, actually, I wasn't. Were they using protection? Is this what this is about?"

"Dan and Kyle were planning on having premarital intercourse in your yard and all you were worried about was if they used protection?"

"Well, yes." Gwen crossed her arms. "I think kids should have some freedom. Keep them pent up for too long and you've got a bad situation. I love my nephew like if he were my own kid, I just want him to be happy. Now, if he turns into a nympho, you've got an issue there, but as long as it's consensual and clean, there's no problem."

"I guess I see your point... Can I get some advice?"

"Come inside, this'll be a while."

-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for this subpar chapter that was 97% dialogue and 3% betrayal. Also thank you all for your praise and love I appreciate it so much :)


	6. VI

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which we all pay a visit to Charlie's Crack Tent...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok just so u guys know I don't do drugs at all I just like writing about them for some reason. Please don't call the cops on me, I am not a drug dealer/user. Thank u.

They say nothing ever happens past two in the morning.

Well, they were wrong.

Kyle managed to make his way into Gwen's backyard, and bang on the French doors just loud enough so that Dan- clad in sweatpants and a pair of socks- would jump out of his bedsheets and come outside. Peanut followed behind him, but neither of the two boys allowed her to go outside. It was best if she stayed home tonight.

"Kyle?"

"That's me. Come on and get dressed, Charlie's got a thing going on."

"I thought we weren't supposed to-"

"Put your shirt on and let's get out of here before my mother sticks her big nose over the damn  
fence again."

And so Dan threw on a hoodie and slipped on his sneakers so quickly, that he didn't even realize he'd worn two different ones until he was three blocks down from his house.

"Kyle, where are we going?" Dan fumbled with the lint in his pockets. The moonlight shone on Kyle's face. He was wearing a somber expression and frown tugged at his lips. What could possibly be bothering him?

"I know we're going to Charlie's Crack Tent, but that's just about it. We'll be back before six so Gwen won't notice you're gone."

"Charlie's Crack Tent?"

"It's a tent in the middle of the woods where Charlie keeps his stash of illegal Chinese fireworks and well... crack."

Dan nodded. "Why am I not surprised?"

After about a half an hour of walking through the neighborhood, Kyle found a pathway through someone's backyard. He seemed familiar with the route, as if he had taken it millions of times before. They ventured into the deep brush, and as quickly as possible, made their way into the center of the wooded area. Leaves thwacked at their bodies as they rushed through layers and layers of bushes and plants of all sorts. Who knew what kind of critters crawled beneath their feet?

Ten minutes passed and what was presumably the Crack Tent had appeared before them. There was a lantern next to a bright campfire that seemed too pristine to be Charlie's. 

Charlie emerged from the tent, followed by Ralph, Will, and the pretty woman from the party that wasn't a woman after all. Her name was something along the lines of Woody. 

"Hello there, please take a seat, will you? I've got some beers in the cooler, and a little something-something in the tent for later." Charlie held up his drink and winked at the boys, who hesitantly took a seat around the fire.

"Now that we're all here," Charlie began once again. "I've taken the time to tell you all that I've got some big clients overseas who are really into this deal. So lately, I've been cooking up my share, and I was really hoping that I could get you all to pitch in with some other... varying degrees of supplies."

Kyle looked down at the ground below him. Dan was puzzled.

"What he means," Ralph interjected. "Is that he's got a guy paying a lot of money for some drugs, but he's asking for a what I like to call a fruit basket. He wants coke, herb, just about anything. Charlie's got the dust handled, these clowns have the dope, and Kyle has to take care of the weed situation."

Charlie nodded along. "But we need you, Dan, our handsome devil here, to help us acquire some of it."

All eyes turned to Dan.

He was baffled. Lost for words. Any way you'd like to put it. He couldn't possibly take Gwen's supply. He was her nephew, and she was his aunt. They were family, and frankly, she was the only sane one of the bunch. What was at stake here? What could Charlie do to possibly drive him to steal Aunt Gwen's secret stash of marijuana? Dan didn't really want to find out the hard way.

"I don't know if I can do this. She's my aunt, you know? We're close, and she's really nice to me. Nicer than my parents, who don't even tell me what's going on. What's in it for me?"

Charlie scoffed.

"I've got about 500 American dollars I'm about to lose if you don't get me that herb. You think I'll let you off the hook that easy? I'm not giving you jack until you hand me a half a pound of grass, then we'll talk."

"An American? Why'd he go all the way to you to get this, then?" Dan folded his arms against his chest. He noticed the crackling fire was shrinking.

"He's not American, but he's got his distributors in New York. He's the middleman in this game, and if you don't comply, I lose twenty thousand U.S dollars, he loses his clients, and you could possibly lose a finger or two."

There was an intense silence at the camp. Kyle was fiddling with his thumbs. He couldn't bare to look at Dan. 

"What do you say, Dan? Are you in?" Ralph extended his hand.

Dan looked at his mismatched sneakers, and at what cigarette butts littering the soil beneath his feet. Then, he looked at Kyle. His sad, brown eyes followed the flames of the camp fire, reaching out towards the trees, but not quite making it. He seemed enchanted by the yellow-orange light that flickered against the tent, and the young men around it. 

Dan looked back at Ralph.

He shook his hand.

-

"Is that why you tried to sleep with me?" Dan muttered on the way back home. The asphalt crunched beneath his sneakers.

"Listen to me," Kyle placed his hand on Dan's shoulder. "I like you, okay? I like you more than I would have if I were in it just for the drugs. Charlie just wants his bread, and once it's over, you don't gotta do it anymore."

"You didn't answer my question." He snapped back at he skinny boy, whose eyes carried dark, heavy bags.

"I didn't want you involved. It was the only way I could get it without you getting caught in the crossfire! So, if you're not happy with what I did, you give him the weed and we don't have to talk about it anymore!"

"You were going to steal it? What is wrong with you?"

"Dan, I'm sorry. I'm so, so, sorry. If you want this to be over, please just give him what he needs. It's not much."

"He's changed you. You haven't stopped smoking since that party. You've got to cut loose, Kyle. Pretty soon, you'll wake up dead and no one will know what happened, except for those crackheads in that tent!"

"You don't have to say it so loudly, dammit. People are sleeping."

And so they argued for twenty more minutes until finally, they had to part ways. They were standing on the sidewalk between Kyle's house and Gwen's. Dan had his heel halfway out of his left shoe, and Kyle had his hands buried in his pocket.

"Kyle?" Dan whimpered. The mood had dramatically shifted.

"What?" 

"If I give it to him, will it be over? No more hassles?"

"I can't guarantee anything. I'm sorry."

There was a strange silence. Neither of them were really sure what to do anymore. They were conflicted and honestly had no clue what to do with the situation at hand.

"I'll have it by tomorrow."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The only thing getting me through 2017 is when Dan's pants are falling down in the glory music video. Bless this band.


	7. VII

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Dan doesn't know how to measure...

"Kyle, after much consideration, we've decided that we are going to allow this relation between you and Dan." Kyle's mother took a long sip of her tea. She set it down on the table as she took a look at her son. "Please, just be safe. And if you want us to keep your sexuality a secret, we will do so."

"Mom," began Kyle, who sighed heavily. "Thanks but, I don't know if it's going to work out. I wouldn't worry about it."

"Why? You two have hung out every day for a while now, you're close and everything." She clasped her fingers together. Concern was evident in her expression.

"He's only here for a little while, his parents are having problems and they didn't want him in the crossfire. He's got like two weeks, maybe less. It's just one of those summer flings they have in movies, except worse." He crossed his arms and bashfully looked down at his sneakers. He was tapping his right foot, for no reason. Maybe he was on edge? Maybe it was the two white lines he'd inhaled this morning that had turned his mind into mush and his heart into a jet engine.

"Go talk to him today. You can have him over, there's food in the fridge and condoms in the-"

"I know where they are."

"Do you?" She smiled. He hadn't seen his mother smile in quite a while.

"Wait, no I don't."

-


End file.
